Swansea City players to ‘stick two fingers up’ at Luke Williams after public criticism.

The Swans manager insists he stands by his words following the weekend defeat to Sunderland.

Luke Williams acknowledges that some of his Swansea City players are ‘going to stick two fingers up’ at him following his comments after the defeat to Sunderland last weekend.

The Swans manager was obviously angered after his team’s 3-2 loss to the Black Cats, accusing them of missing the attitude required to beat the Championship’s elite sides.

Indeed, the Swans have lost all of their encounters with the current top seven, which has clearly irritated Williams, who has made no secret of his desire to establish himself among the league’s highest echelons this season.

“If you look at the league table, I think we’ve lost seven against the top ten,” he told me. “Won one.” Draw one. Then, underneath us, we’ve only lost one game. So we could not be more accurate in terms of where we deserve to be.”

When asked if he stood by his words, Williams said, “Yes.” Because right now, I am accurate. The league table indicates that I am accurate.

“So I was emotional, but I had enough presence of mind to think what I was saying was real.

“That is not to say that I distrust our group. Far from it. I’m just emphasizing that this is how we’ve fared up until about midway.

“Even at my school, I can work out the maths that we need to do slightly better, to do a lot better.”

Despite appearing to be so critical of his players, Williams claims his team has responded well this week, with the club set to travel to bottom-of-the-table Hull City this weekend, but he concedes his words may have ruffled some feathers in the dressing room.

“They’ve responded well,” he explained. “They always do, and I’ve been pleased by how many times they’ve previously been tested and met the task. I’m pleased by them in that manner, but if I don’t keep pushing them, it will be unjust and I won’t be performing my job correctly.

“In football, if you remain motionless for a second, you fall backwards. So we have to keep moving forward, and that is exactly what we will do, and the group has responded positively.

“The questions I’ve asked the players [after the Sunderland game] are challenging, and no one likes to be questioned about their mindset.

“I expect, knowing the group, that they’ll quietly raise two fingers at me and demonstrate that they can sustain their performance for 90 minutes, go out and produce results against the top six teams, and be consistent against the middle of the table.

“So that’s what I’m expecting from them.”

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Swansea’s recent performances against quality Championship clubs have raised questions about their squad’s ability to contend for the top six, especially with January approaching.

Williams, on the other hand, has rejected the notion that the teams listed above are there because they are better.

“No, they haven’t [increased quality]. We have sufficient quality. However, our quality is only visible and tough to replicate when we have the right mindset. I believe it. I truly do.

“We’re capable of competing with those clubs. I believe it is fair to state that our performances have demonstrated that we can compete on equal terms. You don’t expect to control a game from start to finish against any of those teams.

“But if you can dominate portions of those games, you are competing.

“We have done quite well. But where we’ve gone wrong is when we deviate from the ideals that put us into this situation in the first place.”

Swansea face Hull at the MKM Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is at 12.30pm.

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